Eight members of Boston Public Schools’ English Learners Task Force resigned on Tuesday in protest of the district’s new plan for moving English language learners into general education classrooms, calling it “ill-advised” and “harmful.”
The resignations come two weeks after BPS unveiled the “Inclusive Education Plan.” Instead of being taught separately in their native language, students will be in regular classes and receive English as a Second Language support as needed.
Maria Serpa, one of the resigning members, said the new plan will not improve educational outcomes for the nearly 15,000 BPS students who are English language learners.
“It’s compromising their opportunities to learn to read well in English, to learn English well, to learn math, to learn science,” she said. “I profoundly believe that’s immoral because it’s harming their future in terms of not only finishing school, but being able to have a job and being able to read and write as they are entitled to.”
The task force members resigned in a letter to school officials on Tuesday, citing the change.
“This shift represents a clear move away from expanding access to instruction in the students’ native languages and highlights a fundamental divide between EL Task Force leaders and BPS leaders that we no longer feel can be bridged,” they said in the letter. “For this reason, we write to you today to resign from the EL Task Force of the Boston School Committee.”
Read more on Boston schools task force members resign over new plan for English learners by Diane Adame at GBH News.
Publisher’s Note: This story is an aggregate from GBH, Massachusetts Latino News’ (MALN) partner in providing greater visibility and voice to the Hispanic-Latino community.
